KOCHI: Though the impending examinations, the study leave and the hartal called by the merchants’ association played spoilsport, nearly 525 youngsters came forward to register themselves as stem cell donors on Tuesday at a camp set up by Smilemakers of Cusat and DATRI of St Teresa’s College. The organisers were expecting around 1,000 registrations.
“Next, we will be holding a camp at Lulu Mall on November 14,” said Ramiz Rehman of Smilemakers. “Not only students but also teachers and people from outside the campus came in to register. However, one big impediment is the lack of awareness about the stem cell donation process,” he said.
According to him, there is a common notion that bone marrow aspiration needs to be done to extract stem cells. “But this is not the case. The stem cells are extracted from the blood. There is no drilling of bones happens,” said Ramiz. According to him, stem cell transfusion is the only treatment that can save the lives of those suffering from leukaemia and thalassemia.
“The programme has been organised for the benefit of not only the three siblings diagnosed with thalassemia major hailing from Mattancherry, but for the thousands of patients who have registered with DATRI. Since the possibility of obtaining a match is one in 20 lakh, there is a need to have a lot of people registering as fast as possible,” he said. Speaking after inaugurating the registry drive, Poornima Jayaram, actor, said: “Everyone will come as one to register themselves if they put themselves in the shoes of the recipient.”